US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone on Wednesday and agreed to immediately start talks to end the Ukraine war, in an extraordinary thaw in relations that could leave Kyiv out in the cold.
Trump described the call as “lengthy and highly productive” in a post on Truth Social, saying that the two leaders had even agreed to visit each other’s nations to address the deep tensions since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The Kremlin separately said the call lasted nearly one-and-a-half hours and that Putin and Trump had agreed that the “time has come to work together,” with a long-term solution for the Ukraine war in reach.
“I just had a lengthy and highly productive phone call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia,” Trump said, adding that they had discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, artificial intelligence and other subjects.
He said they agreed that “we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine” – with Trump using an unconfirmed figure for the toll in the Ukraine conflict.
“We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s Nations,” said Trump. “We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately” on Ukraine.
Trump had promised to end the Ukraine war before taking office and has been pushing for a peace settlement while remaining coy until now about any possible contact with Putin.
But in a sign that Ukraine could see its fate decided by Washington and Moscow, Trump said that “we will begin by calling President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation”. AFP
